Minister of National Security, Hon. John Saldivar handed over three new Mahindra Double Cab pickup trucks and a new tractor to BDF commander, General Dario Tapia on Wednesday, October 31st.

Valued at $220,000, the vehicles will be used to improve the mobility of soldiers in the southern and western parts of the country. The tractor will be employed to insert and extract personnel from outpost areas along the border. The Mahindra vehicles are fuel efficient, durable and reliable vehicles that can handle rugged terrain, can provide a quality ride, handling and load carrying capacity and have European safety standards

Hon. Saldivar told The Guardian that the vehicles continue to signal the ministry's commitment for soldiers to be better equipped to carry out their duties. He added that financing to secure the vehicles came from the Ministry's regular budget through cost cutting measures being implemented in areas such as electricity and telephone usage. He added that there is much that needs to be done to improve conditions for soldiers and the Ministry will continue to provide the tools for the BDF to be able to assist in crime fighting an securing our borders.

He added that in the area of crime fighting, very shortly, the soldiers will once again be called upon to exercise their duties alongside police personnel.

The new vehicles recently donated form just a small part of what the Ministry is doing for the BDF and Minister Saldivar promised that within the next few months, there will be other vehicles added to the fleet. He also stated that work will soon commence on a Joint Operation Center, which will be housed at Price Barracks to improve the response to crime.